Landing one of the major telecom companies as a partner, vendor or client is a major coup for any small businesses in Canada. Such contracts have the potential to open the door to resources often unattainable to smaller companies, improve their employer brand and establish a new level of credibility within the marketplace.
But getting a great idea, product or solution in front of the right people within the telecom giants can be a challenge, as is navigating the various processes and requirements such companies have for their partners. Here is some advice straight from the big three on how to pique their interest and secure a deal.
Bell
According Shawn Omstead, Bell's vice president of residential products, the company understands that new innovations and services in home entertainment and connectivity often originate in the startup community.
"We're always looking for what's next, or companies that are really showing leadership in creating experiences for customers," he said.
Mr. Omstead likens pitching Bell to applying for a job. He explains that candidates should be able to present samples of their work that demonstrate a high degree of quality, and be prepared to provide references.
"For smaller companies it comes down to the quality of the work that you've done, the recognition that you've gotten for that work and then meeting our criteria around cost, timing and quality once we get into a dialogue," he said, adding that Bell also prefers working with companies that have other clients, and won't rely entirely on a single contract.
There is no formal process or secret formula for getting Bell executives to consider new ideas and products, and according to Mr. Omstead most partnerships originate from Bell identifying a need and seeking out reputable partners, not from unsolicited pitches.
Pierre-Luc Simard, the chief technology officer for Quebec City-based Mirego, who partnered with Bell to develop its Fibe TV streaming capabilities, advises small businesses to be nimble, transparent and provide realistic expectations when negotiating a partnership with Bell.
"As a small player, you have to be honest about what you can and cannot do within an amount of time," he said. "Seek to make your client understand and build that confidence in you, because they can trust that you can deliver if you're open about the challenges."
Since partnering with Bell, Mr. Simard says the company has extended its once Quebec-focused brand into an international player.
"Having a partner like Bell, being able to speak to the quality of our product or how we work is a great reference and credential when we're going to other companies to approach them for similar types of work," he said.
Rogers
Identifying that businesses were having trouble pitching their ideas to the right person, Rogers formed an innovation department in June of 2014 to "provide a first contact into Rogers for innovative companies who would otherwise experience difficulty being heard," according to a fact sheet prepared for The Globe and Mail. The department also allows Rogers to identify needs within the organization.
"Our program encourages companies to pitch us their market-ready products and services," said Rob Switzman, the vice president of innovation for Rogers, via e-mail. "My team will then evaluate opportunities and collaborate with the right leaders across our different business units to see what products and services are a right fit."
Mr. Switzman adds that the innovation department seeks to bridge the gap between the telecom giant and the small business community.
"The best candidates are companies that can offer us opportunities to build on our assets," he said. "For example, with enterprise we're looking at machine-to-machine (M2M) and cloud technologies. For consumers, opportunities that can help us evolve wireless solutions, cross-platform video services, smart home solutions and mobile content are of interest. Also, we're exploring ways to improve the way our internal services work to better serve our customers."
Businesses of all sizes can e-mail their ideas to innovation@rci.rogers.com, and rest assured that they will be reviewed by the correct party within the organization.
Telus
With a focus on connected devices, an industry largely spearheaded in Canada by the small business community, Telus is eager to share its resources with startups that can add to their Internet of Things (IoT) offering.
"In the IoT space, what we're seeing is that a lot of the innovation starts with smaller companies," said Greg Stark, the senior product manager of Telus IoT Solutions. "We're keeping an eye on the small companies, because sometimes the best innovations come out of them."
Telus has much to offer innovative startups, explains Mr. Stark, adding that they currently provide their 65 IoT partners with sales and marketing resources, strategic advice and feature them in the TELUS IoT Marketplace.
"Telus was a massive help for us because Telus is a huge sales machine and has a very large national sales force well positioned in the market that we were targeting," said Tony Lourakis, the CEO and co-founder of Fleet Complete, a Markham, Ontario-based mobile workforce solutions provider.
Since partnering with Telus eight years ago, Fleet Complete has grown from about 25 employees and "two or three million" in revenue, according to Mr. Lourakis, to a market leader with 160 employees and $30-million in annual sales.
Mr. Lourakis says the key to a successful partnership with Telus is investing in a long-term relationship.
"We really put all of our efforts into making the program successful," he said. "Anyone else that follows our path needs to provide Telus with support to sell the products or services that they're offering, and invest in the relationship." Mr. Stark adds that Telus values partners with a customer-centric view, and is most eager to work with startups that have identified a real pain point for their customers. He adds that there are both formal and informal methods for presenting such solutions to Telus employees.
"There's an on-boarding process and an application process where they can go online and submit their solutions," he said. "Some of it is just us meeting with them and having coffee chats, or [being introduced] at an IoT Meetup."
An online application for pitching IoT solutions to Telus can be found at https://iot.telus.com/partner/application.
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